United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $56.62, but opened at $58.27. United Parks & Resorts shares last traded at $57.63, with a volume of 46,504 shares trading hands.

Specifically, insider James Mikolaichik acquired 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.29 per share, with a total value of $1,947,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 76,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,369,336.43. This represents a 80.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRKS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of United Parks & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $63.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price (down from $45.00) on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on United Parks & Resorts from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Parks & Resorts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.60.

United Parks & Resorts Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 2.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.21.

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $545.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.47 million. United Parks & Resorts had a net margin of 13.85% and a negative return on equity of 76.13%. United Parks & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Parks & Resorts Inc. will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Parks & Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRKS. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in United Parks & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $739,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in United Parks & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in United Parks & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,862,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $411,000.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States. It operates and licenses SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and San Diego, California, as well as Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia.